The United (U.S.) Secret Service questioned James Comey, former FBI Director, after he shared, and then deleted, a post on social media that Republicans claim incited violence against U.S. President Donald Trump.
Comey responded to the call for questioning, which lasted an hour and was not detained. The interrogation followed his Instagram post of a photo in which the number “8647” was spelled out using seashells.
In English slang, 86 means to discard or “get rid of,” and has recently come to signify “kill.” Furthermore, Trump is the 47th president of the U.S. Shortly before Comey’s post, Trump stated in an interview that Comey, whom he dismissed from the FBI directorship in 2017, was calling for his assassination.
“He knew exactly what it meant, a child knows what it means. If you’re the FBI director and don’t know what that means – it means assassination. It’s loud and clear,” said Trump, who survived two assassination attempts last year.
He stated that the decision on whether to indict Comey would be up to State Attorney General Pam Bondi. Comey’s Instagram post sparked negative reactions from Trump supporters. After deleting it, he emphasized on the mentioned social network that he saw the shells during a walk on the beach and assumed it was a political message.
“I didn’t know some people associate those numbers with violence. That didn’t occur to me. I oppose all violence, so I deleted the photo,” he wrote.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem posted on X that the Secret Service questioned the “disgraced former FBI Director in connection with a social media post calling for the murder of President Trump.” She also emphasized that an investigation is ongoing.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard called for Comey’s detention, claiming he “ordered an attack” on Trump while he was visiting the Middle East, Klix.ba writes.
